It hit home over SKYPE while I was giving a piano lesson to Australia today that THUMBS have usurped too much power! In their octave by octave advance through scales and arpeggios, they've become conspicuously Napoleonic and territorial, setting up roadblocks that deter longer fingers of each hand from individually passing over and around them… Continue reading Curbing Thumb Power!
A You Tube glimpse of Bach Scholar's set-up for piano lessons by Skype clarified the right overhead keyboard view. Instead of enlisting a clip-on cam that provided an abridged and inverted view of the the keys, I secured a horizontal Alzo mount for my Targus 60" tripod, that gives a perfect planet keyboard panorama. THE… Continue reading My new Overhead webcam view adds fingering clarity and choreography
Sometimes shuffling three Logitechs can be an art, especially when a cyber piano student needs a particular view to assist practicing. Last night, I lucked out, angling my elevated cam so it captured the sustain pedal and keyboard in perfect visual/auditory harmony. I was subsequently able to RECORD a demonstration on Quicktime MOVIE, which is… Continue reading Sustain pedaling by Webcam
My amazement grows in big spurts when I discover new options to aid piano students who take lessons over Skype or Facetime. Two of mine, have poor SKYPE transmission, while FACETIME hums along with clarity. This circumstance motivated me to explore the FACETIME Record option, whose SKYPE analog I'd mastered as CALL RECORDER. Last night,… Continue reading By FACETIME or SKYPE, Quicktime recorded snippets assist piano students
I rely on Logitech webcams with a long range panoramic capability and various angled keyboard views, including a DIRECT KEYBOARD overhead as below. These views are just a mouse tap away. For trill and ornament demonstrations, I can highlight the second or third HD PRO cam option listed on my SKYPE (or FACE… Continue reading Multi-cam views during Skype or Face Time piano lessons
These lesson videos-in-progress reinforce practicing approaches to warm-ups, giving a student an additional angle of the teacher's hands. I. Crispy Cracker Staccato (D Major scale) Forearm generated at FORTE level followed by "lighter" finger strokes at "piano" dynamic. Forte=Big Projection, Piano=Soft FLASHBACK video, (A Major scale in Staccato) before my relocation to Berkeley--same student LIVE,… Continue reading Adult sneak peek piano technique
